Building a Scalable Video Processing Pipeline

Video uploads stretch every part of your stack: big payloads at ingest, CPU-heavy transcoding, and latency-sensitive delivery. A solid pipeline keeps viewers watching and prevents support tickets. Here's how to design a resilient video pipeline without becoming a streaming company.

Ingest at the edge

Authenticate on the server, then let uploads hit the nearest edge location. Validate container and codec up front to avoid wasting compute on bad files. Capture metadata (duration, resolution) during ingest so you can make smart decisions later.

Transcode for every screen

• Create multiple renditions (1080p, 720p, 480p) and consider modern codecs like H.265 or AV1 where supported.
• Generate thumbnails and preview clips to speed up browsing.
• Store renditions with deterministic keys and include signed playback URLs for private content.

Deliver with adaptive streaming

Use HLS or DASH manifests so players can adapt to bandwidth in real time. Serve via a global CDN and prewarm popular content. Monitor rebuffering, start time, and error rates; those metrics matter more than raw throughput for user happiness.

Handle spikes gracefully

Queue transcoding jobs to smooth bursts, and apply rate limits at ingest to protect your upstream APIs. Keep observability tight: log ingest latency, transcode durations, and CDN cache hit ratios. UploadBird handles transcoding, storage, signed playback URLs, and global delivery so you can focus on the viewing experience, not the plumbing.